


A Chance Meeting

by mynothingness



Series: A Chance Meeting [1]
Category: The Old Guard (Movie 2020)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Joe and Nicky are the best dads ever, M/M, POV Outsider, Post-Canon, Soft Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani, Soft Nicky | Nicolò di Genova
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-28
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-12 08:27:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,732
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29756838
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mynothingness/pseuds/mynothingness
Summary: “Perdonami,”he said with a slight smile. “Are you alright?” She stared dumbly up at him. God, he even sounded like… but it wasn’t him, obviously. Dr. Nicholas Smith, Dr. Nicky, as they’d called him, he would be in his mid-60s at least by now. This guy, in a hoodie and jeans, brown hair flopping over his forehead, he was in his late 20s or early 30s at the most. She shook her head, and opened her mouth to apologize, but lost her voice at the sight of his eyes. The profile, the birthmark, the accent, andthe eyes.It was over 30 years since she’d last seen eyes that particular shade of blue-green.Or what happens when one of the kids Joe and Nicky fostered back in the early 90s accidentally runs into Nicky at a coffee shop three decades later.
Relationships: Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani/Nicky | Nicolò di Genova, Nicky | Nicolo di Genova & Original Character(s)
Series: A Chance Meeting [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2198466
Comments: 40
Kudos: 415





	A Chance Meeting

**Author's Note:**

> This is a spin-off of sorts of my previous fic [Brothers in Arms](https://archiveofourown.org/works/29377551), but you don't need to read that to understand it. The background is this: In the early 90s, Joe and Nicky fostered high-risk HIV positive children in the U.S., a cause very close to Nicky's heart. At the time, Nicky was going by Dr. Nicholas Smith, married (on paper) to Andrea Smith. This story is set about five years after the end of that story (and the events of the movie).  
> I hope you enjoy! <3

Allison walked into the coffee shop on autopilot, focused on one thing and one thing only – caffeine, and lots of it. She had a long day up ahead at the NGO she worked at, and she’d had a bad night, waking up from nightmares, drenched in sweat at 3 a.m., and tossing and turning thereafter. There was no way she was going to be of any help to _anybody_ unless she got her extra-large black coffee to go.

It was probably because she was so tired that she didn’t notice him right away. He was almost at the door, heading out as she was entering when she caught sight of him from the corner of her eye. It was the little birthmark right by his lip that caught her eye, and above it, that familiar profile, with that proud Roman nose. She stumbled to a stop as the sight brought back a rush of memories from childhood – of comfort and kindness, of that same profile lit up by the warm glow of her butterfly bedside lamp, of a soft voice singing lullabies in Italian as she finally fell asleep…

Her abrupt motion meant he almost walked right into her, stopping himself just in time. “ _Perdonami,_ ” he said with a slight smile. “Are you alright?” She stared dumbly up at him. God, he even _sounded_ like… but it wasn’t him, obviously. Dr. Nicholas Smith, Dr. Nicky, as they’d called him, he would be in his mid-60s at least by now. This guy, in a hoodie and jeans, brown hair flopping over his forehead, he was in his late 20s or early 30s, at the most. She shook her head, and opened her mouth to apologize, but lost her voice at the sight of his eyes. The profile, the birthmark, the accent, and the _eyes._

It was over 30 years since she’d last seen eyes that particular shade of blue-green.

She was overcome by a sense of utter déjà vu as the man looked at her with growing concern in those light eyes, and gently moved her out of the way as another customer came in behind them. “Are you alright?” he repeated, a frown gathering between his brows, “do you need…?”

Allison didn’t quite hear what he said over the rushing sound in her ears. She was obviously having some sort of episode, caused by the lack of sleep and the nightmares last night. Their severity had brought back memories of the night terrors she’d suffered from in childhood, and that, as always, had brought back memories of Dr. Nicky sitting with her patiently, telling stories or singing until she had recovered enough to go back to sleep. He’d been in her thoughts so much this past few years in any case… She was about to make some self-deprecating comment about needing coffee, when she heard a voice call out, “Nicky!” and her words failed her yet again.

She watched as a beautiful young black woman walked up to him with two cups held in her hands. Her friendly gaze landed on Allison, and her dark eyes clouded with concern. “Everything okay?” she said.

The man she had called Nicky was still looking at Allison with a frown. “Do you need to sit down?” he said, and she realized that’s what he’d likely said before.

She finally found her voice, and said, slowly, “No, I’m okay. Just tired.” Then, because she felt like she was losing her mind, she blurted out, “I’m sorry… your name is Nicky?” The man just nodded, an odd expression flickering across his face for a second. “I’m sorry,” she said again, knowing she was holding both him and his friend up, but unable to stop herself. “It’s just that I knew a Nicky – a Dr. Nicholas Smith – years ago, as a child, and you’re so much like him!”

For a moment, both of them seemed to go very still, and then, the man raised his eyebrows at her. “You knew my father?” he said, as the other woman turned to look at him.

His _father._ Of course. Allison’s face split into a wide smile, as she was overcome by a something akin to joy. He was Dr. Smith’s _son._ It hadn’t occurred to her because he hadn’t had any children of his own back then. But that was three decades ago; obviously he and Andrea had had kids later. She wasn’t losing her mind… she had finally found the man she had been looking for without any luck for years now. Or rather, she had found his son.

*

A few minutes later, they were seated at a quiet corner table, Allison with a huge cup of coffee before her, and Nicky – short for Nicolò, not Nicholas, he’d told her – sitting opposite with his own, more moderately sized cup. She’d messaged work, letting them know she was running a few minutes late, and Nicky had asked his friend to go ahead, telling her he’d meet her later.

“I really appreciate you doing this,” she said. “I’ve been looking for your father everywhere for the past few years, and it was like searching for a ghost! I can’t tell you how much this means to me.”

He gave her a gentle smile, one that was more in the eyes, with just the barest lift of his lips. It was so much like the way Dr. Nicky used to smile at them, the raggedy bunch of foster kids in his care, that she felt a lump in her throat. “It’s my pleasure,” he said. “I know he will be incredibly glad that we met. He has told me about his time as a foster parent, and he always speaks so fondly of you all.”

She shook her head, the lump in her throat growing, and tears stinging in her eyes. God, she was really off-kilter today. “There’s only me left now,” she said, and she looked up to see her own pain reflected in the clear depths of the man’s eyes. “It was hard to keep in touch with the others… we all rattled around the system after we left your dad. But I managed to track them all down a few years ago.” She took a deep breath. “Those years with him were some of the happiest for all of us. That’s why I wanted to try and find him too. To tell him that. And thank him.”

For a moment, he seemed to be at a loss for words, his jaw clenched with emotion. Then he reached across and covered her hand with his own larger one for a moment. “I will make sure to tell him,” he said quietly, and she felt something within her ease, a weight she hadn’t realized she was carrying lifting off her shoulders.

“Thank you.” She drew a shaky breath. “How is he? He’s back in Italy, you said?”

The man nodded, his gaze dropping down to his cup. “He is well. He lives close to Italy, in Malta. He went there after he retired, with Joe.”

Her heart leapt at the name. “That’s wonderful! We all adored Joe, he’s the best.” One of the reasons why they all had such happy memories of their time with Dr. Smith was because of the omnipresent Joe, who used to teach art at the local elementary school. Mrs. Smith, Andrea, she travelled constantly on work, and it was Joe who always around to help, taking them out for ice-cream, or coming up with silly stories and games to make them smile when they were upset or unwell. She remembered his laughter and kindness with deep fondness, and the thought of him and Dr. Nicky sitting together in their old age, watching the sunset side by side in Malta made her feel glad.

“He is,” he agreed, his eyes warm. He hesitated, and then pointed to the small rainbow flag she had pinned on her jacket lapel. “Nayeli… that’s my friend who just left, she got them a pair of those when she visited last.”

It took her a moment, and then Allison’s eyes widened as she understood what he was trying to say. It was like a half-understood part of a childhood story had suddenly slipped into place. “Oh,” she breathed, “oh, that makes such perfect sense. And they’ve stayed together all these years… I’m so happy for them.”

He gave her a tiny smile. “Yes, they have been together… forever, it seems sometimes. But back then, you know, they did what they needed to in order to be able to foster children in need. Andy… Andrea, she is a dear friend, almost family, and she helped them out.”

“Of course. I understand. And I’m grateful to them all.” She tilted her head. “You are very lucky. You have the best dads in the world.”

He flushed, and buried his nose in his cup, looking pleased (or was it embarrassed?). Her phone beeped then, and she glanced down at it regretfully. If she didn’t get going now, she was going to lose her job. “I wish I could stay longer, but I have to get to work,” she said. “Please, could you give them both the biggest hugs from me when you head back? And if you ever manage to get them online, perhaps we could talk?”

He grinned, wide and sweetly lopsided. “Nayeli tried so hard when she visited, but they’re terrible at it.” She laughed. “But I will try. And Ally, it was such a joy to see you, truly.”

They hugged briefly, and then she was outside, feeling light as air, all the hurt and exhaustion of last night erased by the beautiful chance meeting. It was like those years with Dr. Nicky and his Joe all over again, like they had somehow reached across all the way from Malta, and helped her to feel better and get on with her day.

It wasn’t until late that night that she realized he had called her Ally, when she had only introduced herself to him as Allison. Ally was the scared little girl who had spent her childhood shuttling between hospitals and foster homes. Perhaps he had heard his father use that name for her? She shrugged it off as she settled down to sleep, turning off the bedside lamp. It was such a common abbreviation anyway. She was just overthinking it.

*

**Author's Note:**

> Perdonami: Forgive/pardon me
> 
> Why is Nile using the alias Nayeli in this? No particular reason except that I love the name for her XD. And I figure that if she is going to be back in the U.S. especially (where this fic is set), she would need to use a different name. Nicky on the other hand... he can't resist telling Allison his real name. One tiny truth in a sea of unavoidable half lies :(


End file.
